CC-Crystal’s Mackenzie Geister goes up for a shot against St. Louis during the regional basketball tournament in March.

CARSON CITY — Mackenzie Geister will be playing basketball after her senior year of high school.

The Carson City-Crystal senior signed a letter of intent to play women’s basketball for Lansing Community College.

Geister had a simple reason for choosing LCC.

“The offered me a full-ride scholarship,” Geister said.

Geister said she was also being looked at by Mid-Michigan Community College.

“Because they (LCC) offered more and the scholarship,” Geister said.

Coach Ervin Brunson saw a number of attributes in Geister.

“First of all, a student athlete,” he said. “ I like people to come into the progarm for an education. Being at a junior college they are only going to be here for two years. Our agenda is to get them through school and have them continue to a four-year school.”

Brunson also liked her work with the Eagles.

“Skill-wise she’s a very tough competitor,” he said. “She has that will to win and she comes from a very good program. I feel like she can be a key asset to our team this coming season.”

Brunson is looking for scoring from Geister next year for the Stars.

“She’s an excellent shooter,” he said. “I see her bringing a scoring punch that we desperately need, but her IQ is what intrigues me. She understands the game and with the coaching staff here she can help us with various positions on the team. She’s been used to playing the three, four or five. Here she’ll be able to expand the skills with the three and the four. The other girls I’m bringing in, they can play three or four positions.”

Brunson said he will be working on different things with Geister.

“My expectation will be like any other new girls coming in. We’ll educate them in our system. We have several new players coming in,” he said. “I’ll look at everyone’s skill level. There will be times when the girls will have to play different positions in high school. I also see her leadership. This past season, I lost a majority of players because they completed their two years here. There’s an opportunity for Mackenzie to come in and lead right away. Hopefully, she’ll get to a position where she can move forward after her two years here.”

As for Geister, she just wants to be able to play.

“There’s only two coming back so it will be a whole new team so I think they’ll be a lot better,” she said.

The Stars were 16-13 overall and 8-8 in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association last season.

Carson City-Crystal’s boys basketball team had a chance to make a name for themselves. The Eagles were within a game of sharing a Mid-State Activities Conference title and ended up in the championship game of a Class C district.

After three weeks of practice and scrimmages, the girls high school basketball season is set to tip off tonight with five area games. The featured matchup takes place in Carson City as the Central Montcalm Hornets visit to begin the season. Each team is coming off completely different seasons.

All the hard work has paid off for Carson City-Crystal catcher/utility player Meriah Gallagher on Monday. Gallagher signed a letter-of-intent to play college softball for the Indiana University Southeast Grenadiers. IU Southeast is located in New Albany, Ind. and is close to the Kentucky border near Louisville, Ken.